Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Will zufällig jemand am Montag nach Südafrika :)
Sigh.
So, about a month ago, two semi-regular customers of mine (for those who do not know, I own a travel agency as my day job) show up at my office, bitching about booking a South Africa tour that they saw on TV, and that just got cancelled because the tour operator couldn't generate enough bookings. No problem (I thought), and booked them on a tour with Meier's Weltreisen, Germanys largest distributor of tours of that kind. Well, two weeks ago, that got cancelled too. Not wanting to lose their business, I finally found them an alternative tour on www.elefant-tours.de, some random small german place that apparently sells tours like that too. After reading the 'detailed information' that is on the website, my customers booked that tour with me, which I then confirmed with Elefant Tours. However, the next day, they also read the 'additional information before you travel', which revealed that this is a tour where you can only take a small bag, one pair of shoes, six shirts, travel in a small group of like five people with local guides, sleep in tents part of the time, etc.. Sounds like an awesome tour to me, but not to my 60-year-old customers ! Anyway, they immediately inform both me and Elefant Tours that they will not accept this booking, to which Elefant Tours responds by claiming - Oh well, the legal obligation is with the travel agent anyway, oh and by the way cancellation costs a fee of 100%.
My lawyer says it could go either way and I don't really want to get stuck in a legal battle anyway, so i guess I will write this down as a €3200 losing session. If anyone wants to go on this tour that starts on June 6th for, say, €500 per Person (presuming i can get the names changed, airfare to Jo'burg and from Capetown not included and should run like €700 or so), let me know :)
So, about a month ago, two semi-regular customers of mine (for those who do not know, I own a travel agency as my day job) show up at my office, bitching about booking a South Africa tour that they saw on TV, and that just got cancelled because the tour operator couldn't generate enough bookings. No problem (I thought), and booked them on a tour with Meier's Weltreisen, Germanys largest distributor of tours of that kind. Well, two weeks ago, that got cancelled too. Not wanting to lose their business, I finally found them an alternative tour on www.elefant-tours.de, some random small german place that apparently sells tours like that too. After reading the 'detailed information' that is on the website, my customers booked that tour with me, which I then confirmed with Elefant Tours. However, the next day, they also read the 'additional information before you travel', which revealed that this is a tour where you can only take a small bag, one pair of shoes, six shirts, travel in a small group of like five people with local guides, sleep in tents part of the time, etc.. Sounds like an awesome tour to me, but not to my 60-year-old customers ! Anyway, they immediately inform both me and Elefant Tours that they will not accept this booking, to which Elefant Tours responds by claiming - Oh well, the legal obligation is with the travel agent anyway, oh and by the way cancellation costs a fee of 100%.
My lawyer says it could go either way and I don't really want to get stuck in a legal battle anyway, so i guess I will write this down as a €3200 losing session. If anyone wants to go on this tour that starts on June 6th for, say, €500 per Person (presuming i can get the names changed, airfare to Jo'burg and from Capetown not included and should run like €700 or so), let me know :)
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Viva Las Vegas ?
So as the time to go approaches I am doubting how sensible our decision-making and/or timing was. For SOME reason we are going to Las Vegas for a month when it is hot as hell there and the nicest time of the year in Germany, missing half of the World Cup in the process, only to be there at the same time as the WSOP which more than likely we won't play in anyway. Then in the winter when it is cold as shit here we're considering going to some of the european places like Vienna or Barcelona. Seems backwards. Awkward.
Monday, May 29, 2006
A hand from last week
This is a hand I played on Ultimate Bet 5/10 6max NL Hold'em.
I am the Big Blind with Js9s and a stack of $1500, three players fold to the Small Blind ($1000, new at the table), who bets (pot) $30, I call $20.
The flop comes Qd 9c 7s (pot is $60), he bets $50 and I call (some have called it a loose call, I actually think it is more of a weak-tightish call but overall think it is fine).
The turn card is the Jc, he checks to me (pot $160), I bet $120 and he check-raises to $300. I am clearly not folding, so my two plays are a) raise him all-in or b) call. I personally thought (and still think) that calling is clearly the better play.
My reasoning is that if he has a big hand like AA, KK, AQ, KQ it is unlikely that he will call my all-in raise for an additional $620 (getting only 2-1) presuming he is competent, but will have to call a $250 or so bet after checking to me on the river. Also, and perhaps more importantly, I am letting someone who is bluffing or semi-bluffing take another stab at it on the river, and I would clearly lose that player with a turn raise as well.
The arguments for pushing are clear : My hand is too vulnerable to be giving a semi-bluff or any other top pair or overpair or better J or better 9 a chance to suck out on me and I should be happy to take down a $760 pot right here; also it cannot be presumed that he will fold weak holdings like KK or AA. Also, if he is in fact on some sort of bluff or semi bluff or random play with TT or whatever and the River is a scary card (basically almost any broadway card other than J), I might have to fold the winning hand to a push on the river... Opinions and considerations that I have missed here are highly welcome.
I am the Big Blind with Js9s and a stack of $1500, three players fold to the Small Blind ($1000, new at the table), who bets (pot) $30, I call $20.
The flop comes Qd 9c 7s (pot is $60), he bets $50 and I call (some have called it a loose call, I actually think it is more of a weak-tightish call but overall think it is fine).
The turn card is the Jc, he checks to me (pot $160), I bet $120 and he check-raises to $300. I am clearly not folding, so my two plays are a) raise him all-in or b) call. I personally thought (and still think) that calling is clearly the better play.
My reasoning is that if he has a big hand like AA, KK, AQ, KQ it is unlikely that he will call my all-in raise for an additional $620 (getting only 2-1) presuming he is competent, but will have to call a $250 or so bet after checking to me on the river. Also, and perhaps more importantly, I am letting someone who is bluffing or semi-bluffing take another stab at it on the river, and I would clearly lose that player with a turn raise as well.
The arguments for pushing are clear : My hand is too vulnerable to be giving a semi-bluff or any other top pair or overpair or better J or better 9 a chance to suck out on me and I should be happy to take down a $760 pot right here; also it cannot be presumed that he will fold weak holdings like KK or AA. Also, if he is in fact on some sort of bluff or semi bluff or random play with TT or whatever and the River is a scary card (basically almost any broadway card other than J), I might have to fold the winning hand to a push on the river... Opinions and considerations that I have missed here are highly welcome.
Brrravo, Bad Zwischenahn.
Since we played our first Pot-Limit Session in a while last night, I might as well update !
Marco and I had heard in the past that Bad Zwischenahn, which is about 2h from Hamburg, has a juicy €5/10 PL Hold'em / PL Stud (yes, that IS Pot Limit Stud) game going and had planned to go before but never quite made it, mostly because Schenefeld is so popular, pleasant and profitable. We had done well on saturday in the €10/20 Limit game in Schenefeld and just felt like gaming on sunday so this seemed like a good weekend to give Bad Zwischenahn a shot, since there is no poker in Hamburg on sundays.
After lots and lots of traffic, we arrived at the Jagdhaus Eidel at just after 8pm, and were almost the first players there, even though the game was supposed to start at 8. The casino is inside a quaint old hotel/restaurant right near a recreational area with a rather lake, and wildlife and such. This is as ye ole country as Germany gets. The game itself, as mentioned above, was HE/Stud mixed with a buy-in of €300 Euros (aside : i think it might be considered bad etiquette to buy in for more than the minimum or more than €500 – since that is what bills people carry to the casino – since you never ever see anyone do it). The Stud part was Antes of €5 with the high card bringing it in for €10. I don't know if they realized how much higher the stakes are for the Stud part than for Hold'em, but I wasn't going to start smartassing on my first visit. Anyway, here are the (few semi-interesting) hands we were involved in – I'm not including the hands where I raise AQ to €100 (a pot-sized bet is rounded up there lol), continue bet on the three handed flop of 449 rainbow and get beat by both 95o and 97o who are both already all-in from my continuation bet. Ok, so I did mention this one, but only as an example !
Early in the Stud part the Ace of Spades has to bring it in and chooses to bring in €40 (I guess €40 or €50 would be the max), gets called in 3 spots and I am last to act with [Ah8s]Ac. Now as most can imagine I have no idea about Pot-Limit Stud, but i do know to bet the pot there, which is a bet of €300. As-guy calls and everyone folds, he catches a spade (to go with this [9sKs]As) on 4th street and I put him all-in for his last €180. Somehow all the remaining spades get dealt on my side of the board and my Aces hold up.
Later in Stud I get [8sKh] 8h and call a minimum raise to €20. 4th Street is the 8c ! I put in a small bet of €50 into a pot of about €200 and get called in three spots, by open fives, an apparent diamond draw and a random hand that looks like it could be a straight draw. Now, all I have to do is make a full house and hope someone makes their hand !All my dreams are crushed on 5th street though when i get dealt the worst possible card : the 8d ! I feel like it just looks too stupid to check, and at least the diamond guy caught his third so i try a weakish bet of €100 into the €400 pot but everyone folds. Booh.
Next Orbit, I am the bring-in with [Ad4c] Ac but only bring it in for €10. Half of the reason for this was that I already had picked up a 10 Euro chip and was moving it towards the center before I even looked at my hole cards, but another is that I have no idea how to play Pot-Limit Stud. If i bring in €40 and get called in a few places, I have absolutely no idea what to do next. I can pot for €200 on 4th if it looks like no one has improved (pretty hard to tell), but I had €1500 in front of me as did a few others, and then what do i do (presuming I don't improve) ? Anyway, bringing in €10 is like limp-reraising AA I guess – I was clearly hoping someone would put in any kind of raise, in which case I would have just gone into 'pot third for €250 or whatever, pot all-in fourth' – mode. Alas, everyone limped along, my fourth card was a complete blank and one of the 6 or 7 people in the pot paired his door card, a 10. He bet out €100 into the ~€100 pot, and I had no clue what to do. I didn't want to raise because I had no idea if I could fold to a reraise, and there were so many betting rounds left that I probably would have had to committ 1k or more for a showdown, so I just called, hoping to improve to Aces up on 5th and then raise, or hoping he might just check to me. Everyone else folded, 5th didn't improve me, he fired out €300 and I folded. I guess I was beat, but I am actually clueless as to how to play this hand correctly. If anyone else knows anything about this kind of stuff, I would highly appreciate input.
Hold'em was pretty uneventful. Marco flopped a set of sixes from the Big Blind and took the utg raiser's stack on an A62 rainbow flop. The raiser had AT, not suited. We each won some other random hands and lost some AK'ish hands that were essentially all-in preflop and didn't improve.
In the end, Marco won 600 Euros while I won 1400 (I took a big pot from him with a turned nut straight against his top two pair), so a good time was had by all, and likely will be again !
Marco and I had heard in the past that Bad Zwischenahn, which is about 2h from Hamburg, has a juicy €5/10 PL Hold'em / PL Stud (yes, that IS Pot Limit Stud) game going and had planned to go before but never quite made it, mostly because Schenefeld is so popular, pleasant and profitable. We had done well on saturday in the €10/20 Limit game in Schenefeld and just felt like gaming on sunday so this seemed like a good weekend to give Bad Zwischenahn a shot, since there is no poker in Hamburg on sundays.
After lots and lots of traffic, we arrived at the Jagdhaus Eidel at just after 8pm, and were almost the first players there, even though the game was supposed to start at 8. The casino is inside a quaint old hotel/restaurant right near a recreational area with a rather lake, and wildlife and such. This is as ye ole country as Germany gets. The game itself, as mentioned above, was HE/Stud mixed with a buy-in of €300 Euros (aside : i think it might be considered bad etiquette to buy in for more than the minimum or more than €500 – since that is what bills people carry to the casino – since you never ever see anyone do it). The Stud part was Antes of €5 with the high card bringing it in for €10. I don't know if they realized how much higher the stakes are for the Stud part than for Hold'em, but I wasn't going to start smartassing on my first visit. Anyway, here are the (few semi-interesting) hands we were involved in – I'm not including the hands where I raise AQ to €100 (a pot-sized bet is rounded up there lol), continue bet on the three handed flop of 449 rainbow and get beat by both 95o and 97o who are both already all-in from my continuation bet. Ok, so I did mention this one, but only as an example !
Early in the Stud part the Ace of Spades has to bring it in and chooses to bring in €40 (I guess €40 or €50 would be the max), gets called in 3 spots and I am last to act with [Ah8s]Ac. Now as most can imagine I have no idea about Pot-Limit Stud, but i do know to bet the pot there, which is a bet of €300. As-guy calls and everyone folds, he catches a spade (to go with this [9sKs]As) on 4th street and I put him all-in for his last €180. Somehow all the remaining spades get dealt on my side of the board and my Aces hold up.
Later in Stud I get [8sKh] 8h and call a minimum raise to €20. 4th Street is the 8c ! I put in a small bet of €50 into a pot of about €200 and get called in three spots, by open fives, an apparent diamond draw and a random hand that looks like it could be a straight draw. Now, all I have to do is make a full house and hope someone makes their hand !All my dreams are crushed on 5th street though when i get dealt the worst possible card : the 8d ! I feel like it just looks too stupid to check, and at least the diamond guy caught his third so i try a weakish bet of €100 into the €400 pot but everyone folds. Booh.
Next Orbit, I am the bring-in with [Ad4c] Ac but only bring it in for €10. Half of the reason for this was that I already had picked up a 10 Euro chip and was moving it towards the center before I even looked at my hole cards, but another is that I have no idea how to play Pot-Limit Stud. If i bring in €40 and get called in a few places, I have absolutely no idea what to do next. I can pot for €200 on 4th if it looks like no one has improved (pretty hard to tell), but I had €1500 in front of me as did a few others, and then what do i do (presuming I don't improve) ? Anyway, bringing in €10 is like limp-reraising AA I guess – I was clearly hoping someone would put in any kind of raise, in which case I would have just gone into 'pot third for €250 or whatever, pot all-in fourth' – mode. Alas, everyone limped along, my fourth card was a complete blank and one of the 6 or 7 people in the pot paired his door card, a 10. He bet out €100 into the ~€100 pot, and I had no clue what to do. I didn't want to raise because I had no idea if I could fold to a reraise, and there were so many betting rounds left that I probably would have had to committ 1k or more for a showdown, so I just called, hoping to improve to Aces up on 5th and then raise, or hoping he might just check to me. Everyone else folded, 5th didn't improve me, he fired out €300 and I folded. I guess I was beat, but I am actually clueless as to how to play this hand correctly. If anyone else knows anything about this kind of stuff, I would highly appreciate input.
Hold'em was pretty uneventful. Marco flopped a set of sixes from the Big Blind and took the utg raiser's stack on an A62 rainbow flop. The raiser had AT, not suited. We each won some other random hands and lost some AK'ish hands that were essentially all-in preflop and didn't improve.
In the end, Marco won 600 Euros while I won 1400 (I took a big pot from him with a turned nut straight against his top two pair), so a good time was had by all, and likely will be again !
